The Orleans Conservation Trust protects and restores natural lands — for people and wildlife, the health of our waters, and the character of our community.

New OCT Video!

Produced by Chris Szwedo and narrated by our own Diana Landau, please enjoy this short video about who we are, where we've been, and where we're going. Feel free to share! Click the image to watch.

Annual Meeting Recap

OCT Staff and Trustees hosted a packed house for our annual meeting this past week! At the meeting, OCT officially launched our "At Home with Nature" eco-restoration initiative (learn more here) and announced the Trust's latest land protection project: an opportunity to preserve a 4.5-acre property at 37 Eli Rogers Road (more information here). Members also had an opportunity to learn about several projects funded by OCT's educational grant at Orleans Elementary School and Nauset Regional Middle School. Thank you to all who attended and voted for our new slate of trustees!

Our guest speaker, Seth Wilkinson, Restoration Ecologist and President of Wilkinson Ecological Design, shared a wonderfully educational presentation about eco-restoration that can be done right at home. Learn how to restore local threatened species and ecosystems (including swapping non-native plants with natives that fill a similar ecological or aesthetic role): find the PDF of Seth's presentation here.

Upcoming Talk

Don Wilding

Monday, September 11, 6:30pm-7:30pm

CHO Meetinghouse

3 River Road, Orleans

Henry Beston’s memoir The Outermost House inspired the creation of Cape Cod National Seashore. Historian and award-winning writer Don Wilding will share the story of Beston’s year on the outer beach and the magic of this special place.

Volunteer Workday

Thursday, September 14, 9:30am-11:30am

203 South Orleans Road, Orleans

OCT is looking for volunteers to help move our office demonstration garden forward for fall. This project will include removing weeds, planting native plugs, and mulching target areas.

Please bring water, gloves, shovels for mulching, and hand tools for weeding and planting.

RSVP to lily@orleansconservationtrust.org

Mark Your Calendar

Upcoming Walks:

Hike to Pochet Island (Registration Full)
Baker's Pond (10/12)
Peck Property (11/13)

Upcoming Talks:

"The Outermost House" with Don Wilding (9/11)
"Marine Misfits" with Krill Carson (10/10)
"Nibbling on Native Plants" with Russ Cohen (11/7)

"I am struck by the simplicity of the light in the atmosphere in the autumn, as if the earth absorbed none, and out of this profusion of dazzling light came the autumnal tints." - Henry David Thoreau. Autumn begins at 2:49am, Saturday, September 23 this year.

Orleans Conservation Trust

203 South Orleans Rd.

Orleans, MA 02653

(508) 255-0183

Orleans Conservation Trust is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1970. Over its 50-year history, the Trust has preserved more than 660 acres in Orleans. Among the most active land trusts on Cape Cod, OCT stewards a range of ecosystems, from freshwater ponds and wetlands to saltmarshes, wooded upland, and coastal grasslands, managing its lands to protect and enhance wildlife habitat, restore native ecosystems, and provide public recreation and education through a network of trails and informational signage. OCT also educates residents and visitors about important natural values and environmental issues in Orleans and around Cape Cod via guided walks, free lectures, its website, newsletter, and other communications.